Edwige Fenech (, ; born 24 December 1948) is an Algerian-born Maltese-Sicilian actress and film producer. She is mostly known as the star of a series of ''

commedia sexy all'italiana The commedia sexy all'italiana (, lit. "sex comedy Italian style"), also known as commedia scollacciata or commedia erotica all'italiana, is a subgenre of Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style ''Commedia sexy'' is characterized typ ...

'' and ''

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

'' films released in the 1970s, which turned her into a sex symbol.

Biography

Fenech was born in

Bône Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, French Algeria (now

Annaba Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

Annaba Province Annaba ( ar, ولاية عنابة) is a province (''wilaya'') in the north-eastern corner of Algeria. Its capital, Annaba, is Algeria's main port for mineral exports. History In 1984 El Taref Province was carved out its territory. Administr ...

, Algeria) to a Maltese father and Sicilian mother.

Cinema career

Fenech moved from

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

(France) to Rome in 1967 for her first Italian film '' Samoa, Queen of the Jungle'' by

Guido Malatesta Guido Malatesta (1919 – 14 June 1970), born in Gallarate, Italy, was a film director and screenwriter. He began working as a professional journalist. After he moved to Rome, he was drawn to cinema, as creator of treatments, then scriptwriter ...

. In 1968, she came under contract with Austrian director

Franz Antel Franz Antel (28 June 1913 – 11 August 2007) was a veteran Austrian filmmaker. Born in Vienna, Antel worked mainly as a film producer in the interwar years. After World War II, he began writing and directing films on a large scale. In the ...

and from the late 1960s to early 1970s, she acted in various films of Antel (including his acclaimed '' Frau Wirtin'' series) as well as that of

Franz Marischka Franz Marischka (1918–2009) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of the director Hubert Marischka.Goble p.84 Selected filmography Screenwriter * '' The Daughter of the Regiment'' (1953) * '' Victoria and Her H ...

. Fenech starred in many genres of cinema but her greatest commercial success came with ''

'' films, particularly including earlier works ''

Ubalda, All Naked and Warm ''Quel gran pezzo dell'Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda'', internationally released as ''Ubalda, All Naked and Warm'' (though translated to Spanish as "''Ubalda la hermosa, ardiente y fogosa''") is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Mariano Lau ...

'' (1972) and '' Giovannona Long-Thigh'' (1973), as well as the following ''l'insegnante'' (school teacher), ''la soldatessa'' (soldier), ''la poliziotta'' (policewoman) series and other films that featured Fenech in stereotypical professions, which further bolstered Fenech's position as the most popular actress of the genre. She often paired with

Carlo Giuffrè Carlo Giuffrè (3 December 1928 – 1 November 2018) was an Italian stage, film and television actor and a stage director. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1942 and 2002. Biography Giuffrè was born in Naples, Italy and was the brothe ...

and later with

Renzo Montagnani Renzo Montagnani (September 11, 1930 – May 22, 1997) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario. His first cinema succe ...

in ''commedia sexy'' films. Fenech was also a regular in ''

'' films. Her works in this genre include '' The Seducers'' (1969), ''

Five Dolls for an August Moon ''Five Dolls for an August Moon'' (Italian: ''5 bambole per la luna d'agosto'') is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Mario Bava. It concerns a group of people who have gathered on a remote island for fun and relaxation. One of the guests is ...

'' (1970), ''

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh ''The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh'' (Italian: ''Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh'') is a 1971 ''giallo'' mystery film directed by Sergio Martino, and starring Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov, and Alberto de Mendoza. Its plot follo ...

'' (1971), ''

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key ''Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key'' ( it, Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Sergio Martino. The picture stars Edwige Fenech, Luigi Pistilli, and Anita Strindberg. ...

'' (1972), ''

All the Colors of the Dark ''All the Colors of the Dark'' ( it, Tutti i colori del buio) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Sergio Martino and starring Edwige Fenech, George Hilton (actor), George Hilton and George Rigaud. The film was also released under the alternate ...

'' (1972), ''

The Case of the Bloody Iris ''The Case of the Bloody Iris'' (Italian: ''Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?'', lit. "Why those strange drops of blood on Jennifer's body?", originally released in the UK as ''Erotic Blue'') is a 1972 Italian giallo film ...

'' (1972), '' Strip Nude for Your Killer'' (1975), and ''

Phantom of Death ''Phantom of Death'' ( it, Un delitto poco comune, Literal translation, lit. 'An Uncommon Crime') is an Italian giallo directed by Ruggero Deodato and released in 1988. It starred Michael York, Donald Pleasence and Edwige Fenech. The film was r ...

'' (1987).

Later career

In the 1980s, she became a television personality, typically appearing with

Barbara Bouchet Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...

on a chat show on Italian television. After many years of work in movie production, she co-produced ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' (2004) with Al Pacino, and later accepted

Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, having directed the films '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) and ''Hoste ...

's offer to star in another movie, '' Hostel: Part II'' (2007).

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

named the character of Lt. Ed Fenech in ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an altern ...

'' (2009) in her honour, and invited Fenech to the Italian premiere of his film.

Personal life

Fenech was married to Italian film producer

Luciano Martino Luciano Martino (22 December 1933 – 14 August 2013) was an Italian film producer, director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, the brother of the director and screenwriter Sergio Martino, he was active in the cinema industry since the ...

from 1971 to 1979. In the mid-1990s, she was engaged to the well-known Italian industrialist

Luca di Montezemolo Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman, former Chairman of Ferrari, and formerly Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and President of Confindustria and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Pied ...

. Her son Edwin (born 1971) has worked at her production company and was the former CEO of Ferrari Asia-Pacific, Ferrari Greater China and Ferrari North America.

In popular culture

The English Metal band

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

wrote the song "Edwige's Eyes" on their album " The Guessing Game" as a tribute to the actress.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview with Fenech
by

Luigi Cozzi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo' ...

, from around 1970
Edwige Fenech
Movie poster images
Edwige Fenech fan club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenech, Edwige 1948 births Italian film actresses French film actresses Living people Italian people of Maltese descent French people of Italian descent French people of Maltese descent French people of Sicilian descent French emigrants to Italy Italian television personalities People from Annaba Pieds-Noirs